Golf player&#39;s club selecting device



Jap. 9, 1934.

F. H. FORD 1,943,066 GOLF PLAYERS CLUB SELECTING DEVICE Filed May 29, 1930 Patented Jan. 9v,

UNITED STATES GOLF LAYERS PATENT OFFICE, A

CLUB SELECTING y :2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in golf players club selecting devices.

The primary object of my invention is to proe means for enabling a golf player or dealer in golf clubs to quickly and accurately determine which of requirements of the player .due to his height, length of arms and characteristic posture.

More specifically stated, my-object is to provide an adjustable golf club tobe used for testing purposes and which is made variable in length, (preferably length of shaft), and provided with dividual player, the club bes't adapted for such players requirements will be indicated by said index.

adjusting the club head. to vary'the so-called lie" in correspondence aforesaid telescopic adjustment,` whereby more accurate adjustments may be made than would be possible if the club` head were tilted out o1' the normal position whichit should occupy when the shank is at the proper angle of inclination.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is an elevation oi' a golf club selector embodying my invention. l Figure 2 is a view of the lower 'end of 'the club as seen at right angles to Figure -1, with the toe of the club Xposed in the line of vision. n

a fragmentary view of the telescopic a5 portion.

Figure 4 is a view, similar to Figure 3, 'showing a modified means for vlocking tlieI telescoping members together. A 1

Figure is a view o f the lower end of a club having a. wooden head and illustrating the adghankustable hinged connection of the head with the Like parts areidentied 'bythe same reference characters throughout th several views.

Referring .to Figures 1, 2 and 3, it wiliibe observed that the grip member 10 and shaft 11 are axially adjustable. `The gripmember 10 may comprise a" metal tube. It is preferably covered y by a leather sheath '13 and may have at its upper end a cap 12, whereby lthe upper end portion approximates the gripportion o! an ordinary club in appearance. size, and feel, and a player may hold .it naturally without being inuenced by impressions induced by contrast with those obtained when grasping an. ordinary club.

lA further object'is to provide means for rel with variations in the (ol. 27a-i7) n The shaft 11 has a cylindrical portion 15 which telescopes in the grip member 10 and is provided .with index marks as clearly shown in Figure 3, suitably calibrated and identiiied with clubs of The cylindrical portion 15 snugly iits within the grip member 10 and the lower end of the latter is longitudinally slitted-as indicated at 16 in Figure 3, thus forming a series of resilient tongues 17 which may be clamped upon the cylindrical portion 15 by a nut 18 having at one end internal threads to engage the threaded portion 19 of the grip member 10. The interior surface of the nut 18 below the threaded portion is conically ta- 70 pered, whereby upward movement of the nut on the portion 19 will compress the tongues 17 into clamping engagement with the portion 15 oi' the shaft.

Itisthus n shaft 11 with sufcient rigidity to enable a player to hold -the club head in proper position, or swing it naturally into such position, readjustf ing its length as often as may be necessary until assured that the-club is suit his requirements. The index will then indicate to him,'l 1is dealer, or to an instructor, the

length of the golf club which he should select. z

Itv will beobvious that a change in the length oi' the club, obtained b`y yaxiall member 10'upon the shaft 11, will require a corresponding-change in the soy-called lie or angle `between a line along the sole 22 oi' the club and vthe axis o f the shaft 11, in order that the sole may occupy a horizontal is naturally held by a 4player to whose requirements the length ofv the club has been adjusted.

I therefore'provide a hinged connection between i the head of the club and the shank 23, with the axis of the the face 25 of the club, whereby the'adjustments permittedby the hinge will not vary the pitch or Voblique position of the face'.

I preferably provide the lower end of the-shank pair of spaced ears 26 between 100 23 with a fork or which the flattened extremities or inner end of the head may be received. The material com-- posing the shank ears 26 may be slightly ilexible or resi1ient,`whereby the pivot bolt 24 may clamp them upon the flattened portion the thumb nut 27 isadjusted to clamping position. This allows the head to be frictionally held witlsuiiicient .resistance for testing purposes while allowing it merely applying standard lengths by reference letters or charac- 60 a series of golf clubs will best suit the ters.

pessime te bind the member 1o to the 75 of the proper length to y adjusting `the 85.

position when the club pivot bolt or pin 24 perpendicular to 95- of the had when 105 to be manually readjustedl by suiilcient -force to overcome 'the -1 19,

friction whenever the length of the club is changed by readjustment.

Referring to the modified structure shown in Figure 4 it will be observed that the shaft 11a telescopes into the grip member 10a in the same manner as illustrated in Figure 3 but the lower end of the grip member is not slitted and is secured to the telescoping portion 15a by an ordinary set screw 28. The portion 15a of the shaft will preferably be provided with an inset bearing bar or strip of metal 29 against which the inner end of the set screw impinges when in clamping position. The portion. of the grip member through which the set screw passes is slightly thickened to increase the threaded engagement of the screw therewith.

Referring to Figure 5, in which the club is provided with a wooden head 30, it will be observed that the hinged portion of the head is preferably encased in a metal shefath 31, engageable between the ears 26h. The pivot bolt 24h passes through the flattened and jacketed portion 31 of the head to secure the head to the shank 23h in substantially the same manner that the head is secured to the shank 23 in Figure 1. The shaft 11b is socketed in the shank in the same manner as indicated in Figure 1 and if desired may be secured in the socket by a screw 33.

It will be understood that the object of telescopically adjusting the shaft and grip members instead of merely causing 'them to slide, one upon another, is toavoid distracting the player. By imitating a playing club as nearly aspossible, the player is induced to grasp the selector in a natural manner and the precise club suited to his needs may therefore be quickly and accurately 4tion of said pivotal joint.

selected. In fact, my device constitutes a golf club, capable of being used as such, although such use will ordinarily be for testing purposes only.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a golf club selector for use in testing the requirements of an individual purchaser, comprising axially adjustable gripandshaft members indexed and calibrated for identification of clubs of standard lengths, in combination with a shank portion provided with a head connected to the shank by a pivotal joint for swinging movement about an axis parallel to the plane of the sole, the pivotal joint affording suilicient-friction to temporarily maintain said head and shank in fixed relation, said head being adjustable by the hand of the operator under pressure sufficient to overcome the frictional resistance of the pivot joint to pivotal movement.

2. As a new article of manufacture. a golf club selector provided with grip and shaftpmembers calibrated and indexed to identify clubs of Vstandard lengths and loosely adjustable upon each other, said shaft member having a shank provided with a head connected to the shank by a pivotal joint for swinging movement in a plane at right angles to the sole, the pivotal joint affording sufllcient friction to temporarily mainl tain said head and'shank in fixed relation, said 105 head being adjustableby manual pressure suficient to overcome the frictipnal resistance of the pivot joint to pivotal movement, and hand operable devices for adjusting" the' degree of fric- FREDERIQK H. FORD.

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